The European Investment Bank (EIB) will give Moldova a loan of 150 million euros in support for the reconstruction of roads and for the development of the wine-growing and wine-making sector. Two agreements in this respect were signed today in Chisinau by Prime Minister Vlad Filat and the head of the European Investment Bank's (EIB) Division for Eastern Europe, Constantin Sinodyno.
Vlad Filat said that the first loan worth 75 million euros will be used to restore 93.6 kilometres of roads, in particular the Chisinau-Soroca highway leading to the Ukrainian border, the Balti-Sarateni highway and the Chisinau-Ungheni-Sculeni highway leading to the Romanian border. The works will start in 2011 and will last till 2014.
The project is co-financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with a 75-million-euro loan. Also, the government is negotiating on a 30-million-euro grant for roads' reconstruction with the European Commission. A decision on the matter is expected to be made in January 2011.
The premier said that the second 75-million-euro loan is meant for the wine-growing and wine-making sector to restore and equip laboratories testing wines' quality, staff training centres, to buy and lease wine-making equipment, to refinance companies operating in this sector and others.
For his part, Constantin Sinodyno said that the EIB had signed four similar contracts with Moldova in a year, which is a good result for such a short period. On 24 November the EIB will sign the fifth agreement with a Moldovan bank.
The loan for roads' reconstruction will be given for 18 years, with a grace period of five years and an annual interest rate of up to 3 per cent. The second loan for the wine-growing and wine-making sector will be given for 12 years, with a grace period of four years and an annual interest rate of about 3 per cent.
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